They didn’t speak as they played, the marble clinking as they exchanged pieces.
“You’ve gotten better,” Cassius said as Thalia took out his queen with her rook.
Thalia raised a brow. “I’ve always been better than you.”
Cassius smirked, his eyes lighting as he moved his bishop out of her queen’s way. “Maybe, but I’ve learned a few things since our time together.”
Together.
Thalia moved another pawn, trying to block his bishop’s path to the king. “Like what?”
“Distraction, for example.” Cassius’s callused fingers moved a knight, taking out her pawn.
“Distraction?” Thalia glanced up, finding him leaning forward, his arms resting between his knees. The fire cast shadows over his cheekbones, highlighting the sharp facets of his face. The flames turned his hair into burnt amber, glinting in deep shades of red and gold.
Cassius smiled, a hint of fangs showing. “Check.”
Thalia scowled, glancing down at the knight poised to take out her king. She moved the king out of harm’s way. “You aren’t distracting.”
“Oh no?” Cassius leaned even closer. “A true shame. I’ll have to work harder, then. Check.”
Thalia’s scowl deepened at the bishop facing her king. “What was going on in the throne room today?” She moved her rook before the bishop, protecting the king. Cassius took out the rook, and Thalia claimed his bishop. “Did it have something to do with the sickness?”
Cassius paused, his eyes flicking up for a brief moment. “Yes.”
“What was Lord Damien—what was he doing?”
Cassius moved his other knight back to the starting line. “He was using compulsion.”
“Compulsion?”
Cassius nodded. “A full-blooded Vampyr, like Lord Damien, has the ability to sway others to do their bidding.”
“What do you mean, full-blooded?”
“Vampyrs with red eyes are full-blooded—born of pure Vampyric blood.” Like Lord Damien. “Golden eyes belong to Vampyrs born of pure blood and turned; they’re known as half-bloods. But they can also have green eyes as well, not just gold.”
“Why is that?”
Cassius shrugged. “Something to do with the way the Mages created them. When the Vampyrs started turning humans, it changed the way the magic was written in their blood and how it presented itself. Kind of like when a wolf breeds with a house dog, their offspring look different. Vampyrs and humans were never meant to … intermingle.”
“But they did.”
Cassius shifted, his eyes flashing. “That only happened after the human had turned and became a Vampyr themself.”
Thalia didn’t believe that. She would bet all the remaining ore in Agripa that there were more humans who’d been … forced to do other things besides turn. After all, humans were prey to Vampyrs.
Thalia chewed her lip, mulling over the information. Cassius tracked the movement. She stopped. “And what of the others? Your eyes are blue and always have been.” Granted, the blue of Cassius’seyes had intensified, almost like they’d been sharpened with a whetstone.
“Any humans who were turned by a Vampyr, regardless of their status as pure or half-blood, their eye color remains the same as when they were human. You’ll find there aren’t as many as you’d think.”
“And do you all transform?” She couldn’t keep the image of Lord Damien’s shrunken skull from her mind.
“Yes, when a Vampyr has a strong urge or uses their power, they can transform. Many can control it, but others choose to embrace it.”
Thalia shuddered, then horror twisted her stomach. “Have I been compelled?”
Cassius’s face softened. “No. That ring you wear, it was spelled by a Mage. It stops the effects of compulsion.”
